Photo-Receptor Focus on: The Great Nerf Game
By Maer
Bioware is asking that we try out the PTS before making up our minds about the class changes coming in 1.4. That’s a fair request. I’d love to be able to say I’m thrilled about the proposed changes. Unfortunately, I’m not. I want to love this game and I want it to succeed beyond everyone’s wildest dreams. However, Bioware is doing exactly what they said they would not do. And I have some questions about these changes.
More after the jump…
Bioware has pulled out all the stops and is looking at doing everything they can to rebuild the game. I see that. I applaud that! Unfortunately, they said they would not make changes for one aspect that affect the entire game. Yet, here they are hyping 1.4 to make the PVP contingent happy.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoy PVP and think it’s very important, but not at the expense of the game itself. As a friend of mine has pointed out, “I doubt Soa or any other Boss has complained to Bioware about OP players.”
I also think there needs to be equalization among the classes. However, the philosophy of tearing down the strong to match the weak is one I truly dislike in gaming. I know the poor healing Operatives struggle with healing and leveling compared to Sorcs. But is the answer to tear down the Sorcs to match them? Who wants to play weak characters? Not me!
What is it about developers who seem to do this in game after game? When will they start listening to their player base and realize that it is far smarter to build up the weak characters to match the strong? But nope. They tear down the strong and make them less fun.
And the really annoying thing is that they all pretend the nerfs are a good thing. Good for whom? Certainly not for those getting nerfed.
For instance, Allison Berryman addressed the player concerns in her post here. She said, “Overload and Force Wave, for example, now reach 15 meters in front of you. This is almost twice the previous range. The extra reach is quite a bit of fun and quite useful all around.” (Emphasis added)
With all due respect, Ms. Berryman, I don’t think it sounds fun or useful at all. No, I admit that I haven’t tried it yet. But as a Sorc, I still see it as my class getting nerfed – again. Enhanced range doesn’t make up for the cone thing they are doing to Overload. How is it useful for me to have to turn around and use Overload to get rid of something behind me? It puts in an extra step which will distract me from healing. A small step? Depends on the situation. Either way, that’s not fun or useful. It’s annoying. And the range reduction to Electrocute will make it basically unusable in any practical raid situation.
I admit that I don’t like change. Unless it’s a good change and this is not good. Healers have their attention on healing. Not worrying about unnecessary changes to mechanics we’ve relied upon for months. I can see that Overload is going to be disappearing from my main bar and become a basically useless spell.
Yes, yes, I know the argument is that Operatives don’t have a matching ability. But really is the solution to tear my class down because theirs is weak? Let them have a 360 degree knockback, too. Or be creative and give them something else that’s super cool.
So what can we do? The best way to deal with this is to go to the PTS and try out the new stuff. If you don’t like it, then let Bioware know on the forums. Maybe we can make a difference. Here’s hoping, anyway.
That’s my two credits. What’s yours?
Ready…set…discuss…
I just unsubbed. I love the game, but I played the same thing over and over, and over when I got to Level 50. It is very credit strong too. I hope 1.4 won’t be a nerf fest, but in balance, I never do knockbacks behind or what not. I have been the type to face my targets head on. Simply because I didn’t know the full scope of my abilities. I am thinking I will come back to the game when the Cather are integrated, but that also depends on my budget. The wife has been trying to coerce me to join GW2 as well.
As for operatives not having a 360 knock back, i do believe that the snipe option does (I know that the scoundrels do and since they are similar in skills I can only assume that the snipers do as well) because i keep getting knocked back and rooted for far longer than i do with a sorc in PvP so they can’t call that as a reason to nerf overload, sorcs should have something that allows them to knock others off of them especially if they are healers as they don’t have many offensive powers and are usually the first to be targeted by the other team. Assassins yea not so much need for them to have the 360.
It is almost like they are trying to drive their dedicated people away from the game and to others like GW2 where PvP works well, much better than it does here. It just pisses me off that they keep listening to the 10% of the population which fanatically posts on the forum (PvPers) which might be the whole problem, most anyone who posts in defensive of the way the classes are for PvE on the forums are utterly destroyed by the rantings on whineings of the PvP players it is just utterly sad more PvE people need to post to the forums truthfully.
I was pretty disgusted with the changes to Cryo Grenade, Force Wave and Force Stun myself. Now my Vanguard tank has even LESS control over the battlefield in a raid than usual.
Thanks PvPers.
I don’t PvP. I’m not going to PvP.
If they f-ing want to nerf crap in PvP, then take the time and effort to make more abilities work differently in PvP than they do in PvE like Guard and Taunt.
It’s just lazy and I hate bringing classes down to the lowest common denominator instead of, as you said, elevating others.
I’m NOT exicted about the Cathar. They want us to be impressed because they’ve taken the stock human body and added new face options? They really don’t understand just how far behind the 8-Ball they really are.
Perhaps if they introduced Cathar, Togruta, and Voss as playable species, I’d be more impressed. As it is, this team is providing the least amount of content possible at maximum hype and it is constantly pissing me off.
I really want to continue playing this game. I don’t care for other MMO’s. I don’t play WoW and while I played GW1, I have no interest in playing another MMO. This one is it for me, if it doesn’t work, then my relationship with BioWare (already strained over Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3) will be effectively over.
I’ll be honest, this sounds like a massive overreaction to changes because they hit close to home. Balance by imbalance is a philosphy that works in certain situations, but if everyone can control a player from across the map and kill them before they even know what hit them you have a problem. It is not good for the game that a powertech could stun and then two shot a sage from 30 meters away. Giving everyone the ability to do it does not make it any less of a problem is makes it a bigger one.
As a shadow I actually like the changes to force wave because they sped up the timing vs animation. More often than not I want to knock a person back who it standing in front of me and by the time the ability goes off they are behind me.
I also don’t really understand how people can see these nerfs as problems for PvE. I raid as a gunslinger and do just fine having to get into melee range for a stun. The number of times where a ranged stun is even usable in PvE is limited so complain about it seems odd.
MMOs are about adapting. Nerfs happen all the time, it’s just a fact of life. The ideal goal to not to bring everyone down to the lowest level, but for everyone to meet in the middle.
I don’t PVP at all in SWTOR. My main enjoyment is PVE operations and flashpoints. So, I’m disgruntled that these 1.4 class changes appear to be all about fixing the PVP experience. My main in a Consular Healer, so the reduced range of Force Stun and having Force Wave be a cone does feel like a nerf. On the other hand, I will get a new self heal and can use Force Speed more often. I didn’t care for the last round of class changes, but I adapted to them and get along fine with them now. I’m trying to keep that experience in mind this go-around. I’ll try out the 1.4 changes for awhile and then decide if really feels like a nerf.
Compared to the nerfs in 1.2, these are nothing. I shelved my sorc after 1.2 because healing took the biggest nerf hammer I have ever seen in a MMO (both in PvP and PvE). With these changes, I might play my sorc again in PvP, I won’t in PvE until they give back the free consumption. I got tired of being more a liability than the helpful healer I’m suppose to be.
My complaint about the nerfs is that bioware seems to think that all the changes need to be made all at once, instead of small adjustments here and there. I though they were going to start making class balance changes in these small adjustments, but it is clear that that isn’t the case.